On Sunday 18 January 2009 Suffolk were away against Bedfordshire at Cople.

Following the heavy defeat against Cambridgeshire in their first game, it was a vastly improved display that resulted in a 22-14 win away at Essex last time out. The Suffolk team were looking for a similar performance at Cople, which has never been an easy venue to play at.

As with their first two matches, the Suffolk rinks got off to a slow start in the first session, taking time to adjust to the tricky carpets. Two Suffolk rinks were unable to recover from sluggish starts and those games were lost 14-3 and 8-5. However in the final game the Suffolk rink adapted to their carpet better and secured a 13-7 win.

The second session followed a similar pattern for the other three Suffolk rinks and finished with the same outcome. This time the games were a lot closer, with no more than a few shots in them from start to finish. However Suffolk lost two games 6-4 and 9-7, but won the other game 9-7.

The Suffolk rinks now needed to up their game if they were to avoid an unlikely defeat to the league's bottom team.

In the third session, having had time to assess the carpets, the Suffolk rinks put on an improved performance. Whilst all of the games were close, Suffolk scored their first maximum of the day, winning 7-6, 9-4 and 9-4.

At half way the Suffolk rinks had turned around the early match deficit, to have an overall lead of 10-8. They now needed to maintain their concentration on the difficult carpets and look to improve on their lead.

In the fourth session of the day the Suffolk rinks scored their second consecutive maximum return. This was best session of the day, with two of the games completely dominated by the Suffolk rinks. Only one shot was conceded in 13-1 and 14-0 wins. In the other game the Suffolk rink held off a late fightback to win 12-9.

The fifth session proved to be a lot closer than the previous two. However the Suffolk rinks were still able to take five points out of six. The drawn game was a low scoring affair 6-6, with the two wins being a tight 8-6 and a more comfortable 12-2.

In the final session it was again the Suffolk rinks who took control from the start and all three games were won convincingly. Early leads were taken and increased on, with final game scores of 9-2, 15-2 and 17-2.

Suffolk had won the match 27-9.

It had been a good day for the Suffolk team despite another slow start. Each rink had improved as the day progressed, with consistent and tactical bowling forcing the home team to make more mistakes, resulting in some comfortable wins

To finish their season Suffolk now have two home matches at Bildeston, starting with a match against Norfolk on Sunday 15 February 2009.

Neil Jolly (County Captain)

The latest Eastern Counties League table is available on the ECBA website.

Suffolk County Team: Supported by Portmak Joinery